Say bonjour to O’Naturel, Paris’ first nudist restaurant
Phones and cameras are strictly banned in naturist haven
Paris has welcomed its first nudist restaurant, where patrons swap dinner jackets for birthday suits in the heart of the City of Lights.
The fittingly-named O’Naturel opened its doors in south-east Paris last month, serving a menu of classic French cuisine including foie gras, rack of lamb and creme brulee.
But it isn’t the food that has set tongues wagging - at O’Naturel, all diners enjoy their bill of fare in the buff.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Once they arrive at the restaurant, guests are ushered into a changing room with lockers for their clothes and valuables - including mobile phones and cameras, both of which are strictly prohibited in the dining room.
A white curtain hangs over the frontage of the restaurant, but this is almost certainly for the benefit of passers-by rather than diners, many of whom enthused about the freedom to bare all.
The president of the French Naturist Federation, Yves Leclerc, admitted that stripping off in an upmarket Parisian bistro was “a little surreal” but welcomed the chance to live the nudist lifestyle in the city.
“It's like when we're on holiday, but it's even better,” he said.
London’s only nude restaurant, The Bunyadi, closed its doors just a few months after opening, but O’Naturel’s owners, Mike and Stephane Saada are hoping Paris will prove a more fertile ground. “More than 3.5 million people - including two million foreign tourists - practise naturism in France every year,” ABC reports.
Online reviews for the restaurant have been mixed, with one reviewer complaining that the presence of clothed waiters dampened the atmosphere.
Reservations are mandatory, and a list of rules is prominently displayed inside the restaurant to minimise the risk of any visitors getting the wrong idea about the strictly platonic nature of the bare-all dress code.
“We might reject someone or explain to him that if he is looking to hook up, he should go somewhere else,” Stephane told AFP.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'A speaker courageous enough to stand up to the extremists in his own party'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 18, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - impeachment Peanuts, record-breaking temperatures, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Bizarre pizza toppings horrify Italians
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Despairing husband creates 'Taylor Swift jar'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Celine Dion 'civil war' in New Zealand
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why a bale of straw is hanging from a London bridge
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published